Adolescence Psych- Exam 2

Autonomy and Relatedness are the factors that affected family relationship

Autonomy- having the freedom to believe and think what you believe/think

Relatedness- how relatable your belief is from your parents/family

factors that undermine autonomy

• controlling behavior

• invalidating perspectives- making the people and not the position, would use other people’s opinion in the argument but this doesn’t support/answer their position

• pressuring other person directly

• recanting: saying that you’ve change your mind but you haven’t really. Often seen in teens that are intimidated by their parents so they don’t bother arguing with them

Displaying relatedness & Undermining relatedness

Displaying relatedness: Validating and listening other person’s point (even if your own belief is different)

Undermining: ignoring/interrupting, showing hostility, cutting them off without listening to them, being rude/harshly critical

Correlates and Predictions of high autonomy and relatedness (age 16 onwards)

• kids with high autonomy + relatedness =

  • less risk of depression, less hostile and aggressive

  • those with that relationship with parents will have cascading effect with peer relationship

  • epigenetic age is slower/younger

undermining relatedness/expressing hostility

• kids who express hostility are little less depressed (take high energy approach to relationship)

  • kids that are more hostile with their dad age more quickly

undermining autonomy

• actively undermining autonomy is the problem where the person who constantly feel squashed or stupid become the hostile one

secure infant will more likely argue with parents during adolescence without feeling threaten. why

high comfortability with aruging with parents without feeling invalidated

Anna freud on development

• believe that detachment and the accompanying storm and stress inside family is normal and healthy. absence of conflict between parents and teens signify the young person had problems growing up

• most parents and teens get along well during adolescence, only reason they don’t is if their relationship was already rough pre-adolescence

• no evidence that bickering diminishes closeness in relationship. rather it is how you go about mending the conflict

what happen if individuation process is impeded in adolescence by parents?

• higher risk for psychological distress

• controlling parents often influence their children to be less psychologically mature and not well-liked, leading to them being less successful in school and less likely to be in romantic relationships in their 30s

Billingsley et al., 2021

• Primary caregivers both directly and indirectly facilitated close relationships with adult relatives for children 

• Primary caregivers play an influential role in shaping the nature of their children's relationships with adult relatives 

McElhaney & Allen., 2012 

The pursuit of autonomy is a universal developmental task: children must transition from dependence on caregivers to relative independence in adulthood. However, how autonomy is understood, encouraged, or restricted depends heavily on sociocultural context. Future research must avoid overgeneralizing from Western, middle-class norms and instead identify when autonomy restriction supports or hinders adolescent development. This is especially important for designing culturally sensitive interventions. 

age segregation

adolescents have become very age segregated, due to grade or class separation in school. we spend most of our time with people who are close in age with us. Historically that hasn't always been the case. In the past, adolescents interact with various people of ages 

do putting 6-8th graders together have an effect in self-esteem or performances?

no

cohort effect

different cohorts experience adolescence differently. There are unique characteristics/experiences associated with each cohorts (e.g. gen Z vs gen-alpha) 

• Prof example with the Boomer generation which is a very big cohort, so boomers dominated popular culture at the time. Gen Z cohort is big too so college admission process was more stressful in our generation 

Crowds

large reputation based groups (e.g. Nerds, Jocks, Emos, etc). it is what “defines” you in a group setting

cliches

small group. these people are usually the same age, same social class. These people are who you spend the most time with. Cliques are based on who you interact with whereas crowds are the category you put yourself in. They're not the same.  

what happen to crowds and cliques in later adolescence

those become more dynamic as you grow (e.g. a nerd who can also play basketball well). Even if you join another crowd for lunch, your clique wouldn't feel like you've abandon them 

sex cleavage

• In the beginning of adolescence, kids tend to make more friends who are the same gender. There is a clear difference between boy vs girl groups 

• But towards the end of high school, sex cleavage breaks down, where kids begin to make friends of opposite sex 

Conformity

• most salient during adolescence. This is due to the movement from family to peer relationships so adolescents feel more of a need to "fit in" but this also makes them more susceptible to conformity  

• more likely to conform when uncertain of who you are

people who conform tend to be the healthiest during adulthood (T/F)

True - Found that people in eastern society tend to have more life contentment (possibly due to conformity) but those in western society tend to be more innovative/more patent 

Selection Effect

 choosing peers who are like you/similar to you e.g. the saying that johnny is delinquent is because johnny's friends are delinquent is wrong. It may be that Johnny is delinquent and willingly picking out friends like him 

post-figurative cultures

culture where the young learn from the old

Co-figurative cultures

culture where children and adults both learn from their peers, as opposed to just elders or the youth. things are different and change across generations. E.g. due to cohort effect where experiences are different, you would ask your friends how to use AI rather than your parents.  

• Things have become more co-figurative this generation than in the past due to rapid sociocultural changes 

Kids who are most influenced by peers are most adjusting (T/F)

True

is influence same as pressure?

no! Prof said influences are like learning how other humans work. Kids can be influenced but not necessarily pressured, vice versa 

• Contrary to popular media, you might not be pressured to take up smoking, but rather is influence by other peers bc you see them doing so when they offer you a cigarette (so you smoke willingly) 

Parents vs peers? Who has more influence? 

• Peers have more influence in small, daily matters (e.g. music to listen to, how to dress). More influential in their domains of expertise 

• Parents have more influence in things like core values. Parents have more influence in their domains of expertise. You seek out advice from parents or peers depending on who you think has more expertise and be consequently influence by them 

 

Preference-based popularity:

kids who everyone likes because they have better personality, people prefer to spend more time with this person, they're nicer 

Status-based popularity:

people who have some status is the most popular (e.g. class president, homecoming queen/king, the quarterback)  

• These kids tend to be popular bc they're pretty, their status amongst peer groups 

• More relational aggression with status-based

Correlates of preference-based popularity 

• Value connection and autonomy, more likely to be securely attached, have parents that promote autonomy and relatedness 

• Research found that these kids are three times more likely to pick up drinking or smoking at 13 than their less popular peers. Why? Because these kids are picking up what's cool. They pick up the things that others value 

• They are less hostile bc they learn what was valuable amongst their peers/cohorts at a young age. So they adapt well 

Pseudo-maturity

Popular School kids that tried to act cooler or act older than they are actually do poorer in life 10-15 years later in life. These kids tend to be intimidating in 7-8^th grade but later in life they struggle in other relationships 

Role of Close Friendships is a strong predictor of all sorts of outcomes!

TRUE— reason for HC

most likely target of rejection/victimization

insecurely attached kids

1. Kids that are overly intrusive 

2. Kids that have dismissive-avoidant 

reasons why some kids are rejection-sensitive?

1. parents who don’t respect their kids, parents who are always insulting their kids —> lower self-esteem

2. kids who don’t pick up social cues

3. kids that transfer school a lot

4. kids that are more isolated = less skill at socializing

types of rejected adolescents

1. aggressive group

2. withdrawn-rejected group

3. aggressive and withdrawn group

does rejection and victimization affect academic performance?

yes

neglected vs rejected kids

neglected kids - can just be introverted and don’t want to hang with other people. content without being noticed by the popular groups

rejection kids are socially rejected

bullying is strongly correlated with suicidality

You do better in a school where everyone is being bullied (and bullying is prevalent) than in a school where bullying is rare; bc in a school where bullying is prevalent you at least don't feel singled out 

College age people (same age group) are the loneliest demographic out of any age group. Why?  

Loneliness is influenced by your expectations. If you are expecting college to be the best time of your life and you're not having the best time, then you will feel lonelier 

effects of loneliness in adolescence

higher chance of dropping out of school

Having poor social relationship quality increase mortality risk by 60%! Higher than drinking, smoking, and obesity rate 

Sullivan's vs Erikson's view of the development of intimacy 

• Sullivan: you gain your self-identity through your relationship with other people; I learn to be intimate first through relationship in order to develop my sense of self 

• Erikson: you gain a sense of who you are first before going out and find relationship; I need my sense of identity first in order to develop intimacy with others 

***Modern view agree that it is a mix of both 

difference in romantic relationships for adolescent girls vs boys

• For boys they tend to look for girls that are physically attractive; girls tend to look at personality/inner quality 

• For girls, romantic relationships provide a context for the further expression of intimacy whereas for boys, the provide a context for the further development of intimacy 

  • The way that girl interacts with her bf is more strongly related to the girl's internal working model of relationships than the boy's (likely because girls' greater prior experience with intimacy has led them to better align how they behave with how they really feel) 

• Girls practice intimacy earlier (due to early onset of puberty) and this is also good for guys as girls practice with them 

• Females tend to set up social relationship during relationship and during marriage 

Nancy Chodorow on masculinity and gender identity

Children are usually closer with their mothers. Girls identify more with their mom, but boys usually can't because dad is usually less present in their lives. As such, boys felt like they need to prove themselves through masculinity, these extrinsic features 

what traits make someone popular among both girls and boys

androgynous traits

masculine trait makes boys popular among boys

for every 100 women that gets an undergrad degrees, only __ men do

70

reasons for why males are under-performing

• For many years, male don't need to get great education to get a job. Historically, men do not need to compete with women bc women weren't allowed education in the past, so they become used to not needing to perform as well which translate to the gap today 

• Men are more likely to get blue collared jobs, so might not value getting higher education or pursue "higher status" jobs 

• There's more societal pressure for women to behave well, but that expectation isn't impose on boys: male mediocracy is rewarded but not as much for females.  

what cause homophobia/transphobia

gender intensification

why do teens engage in risky sex? 

• Cost-benefit judgments' 

  • No one talks about having STDs, so you don't know the likelihood of getting this outcome 

  • The belief that having sex without condom makes it more special. Also makes you think you're invulnerable to sex.  

    • Adolescents don't think they're invulnerable to pregnancy 

  • Not being educated about contraceptives 

  • Being virgin 

• Arousal and impulse control issues 

  • Males that were sexually aroused (during a research study) were asked series of questions. And results show that males would do more unconsensus stuff to female when sexually aroused than not 

do male and female show equal rate of dating violence

yes— but intensity of the violence differ. Female slap lighter than male but nonetheless is still violence. Even though males hit harder 

rape frequency

14% HS females reported being raped; 4% male. Framing effects matter here: Higher number show framing effect: using "rape" vs "unconsensual sex" 

factors that lead to increase rape risk

• if parents are facing substance abuse problem

• if the women live further from family

who face harrassment?

• females get harassed more

• Being different e.g. gay, lesbian, trans 

• Anyone that sticks out in any way eg. Being ugly, being too pretty, etc 

what % of teens don’t finish HS on time

20%

costs of school dropout

• Dropouts show higher rate of delinquency  

• Though right after dropping out show slightly less delinquency bc for most kids, school is an adverse experience for them so dropping out fare better for them 

reasons for dropouts

• Not finishing HS predicts lower SES in the future 

• Family in the low SES have higher chance of their kid dropping out 

• Parents dropping out have higher risk of kids dropping out 

• Kids not learning much in school have higher risk of dropping out 

• Lonely kids who have no friends at school have higher risk  

school to prison pipeline

Schools that have zero-tolerance policy (zero-tolerance can be good at times) sets kid up for an adverse school experience 

• These schools are typically in low income school district than high income school district 

why does the US have higher dropout rates than Japan, Finland, etc?

Maybe bc US have greater financial inequality than those places. Difference in socioeconomic performance is a reason why so many schools fail. US student do very poorly on state testing (lower achieving students do poorer) 

• teaching is a prestigious profession in countries in Europe, Asia

the forgotten half and leaky pipeline

• For every 100 9^th graders, only 80 graduate on time. 50 will go directly to college. 35 will still be in college the next year (35% retention rate). ~25 will finish an associate's degree within 3 years. Only ~25% 9^th graders end up with a college degree within a reasonable amount of time 

• The forgotten half- kids that are not going to college 

when do grade drop-off become apparent?

9th grade. kids that are struggling before that or typically struggle in school have higher risk of grade drop-off; kids that are rich or who are already doing well do better as HS progress

Simmons & Blyth vs Eccles View on Role of Autonomy

• Simmons & Blyth view 

  • Said middle school is a problem bc adolescents are naturally difficult during that time period 

• Eccles view on Role of autonomy 

  • Disagree with Simmons and Blyth: Says Schools take away autonomy from kids during a time when kids want it the most (e.g. kids having to ask permission to go to the BR, to get water). When schools are restricting like that, it stops motivations in kids to want to do better. Teachers in junior high are also less likely to trust their students and more likely to emphasize discipline 

Pygmalion effect in the classroom

like self-fulfilling prophecy. The idea is that what we look for is what we create. In a study, there's an expectancy effect where if an adult/teacher expects a group of students to be high achieving, than at the end of the year, these students get better grades, perform better; similarly, if a group of students were expected to be trouble-makers and perform badly, than that is also shown at the end of the year 

two-school model and their benefits?

two-school model: k-8th grade and 9-12th grade

• Importance of academics and prosocial behavior increased over time under the two-school model but became unimportant over time when the transition included a separate middle school (ie. Elementary, middle, HS) 

 

mastery/motivation view of intelligence vs performance/fixed

1. Mastery motivation: similar to intrinsic motivation. The idea of growth mindset. Wanting to pursue mastery of a subject bc you are intrinsically motivated to do so 

2. Performance motivation: Fixed mindset, so you focus on performing well 

1. Effects of a performance motivation 

   • Tendency to take easier classes 

   • Less open to challenges 

   • School isn't intrinsically motivating 

non-cognitive factors in achievement motivation

1. GRIT

2. confidence/self-efficacy

3. Social belonging interventions & Results —> Study at Stanford show that group of students who felt like they belong at school are more likely to graduate and do well academically and well-being wise 

Home environmental factors on academic achievements

1. Parental standards matter 

2. Parenting style 

   • Authoritative parenting have kids doing better 

3. Intergenerational effects 

   • IQ is inheritable. But if you're in a lower SES group, that inheritability goes away; income is a bigger factor so having parents who have lower IQ and in lower SES doesn't affect the kid 

4. Cultural capital 

   • Exposing your kids to art, literature, career, etc your kids will do better. That has nothing to do with income or how parents are. It depends on the exposure of kids to cultural capital and how well the kid take advantage of it 

 

big schools vs small schools

Big schools give kids more options; small schools encourage participations more 

• In big schools you have to try harder to stand out; in small schools you don't have to be good in baseball to get into the team. Bigs schools tend to push students out. Small schools pull kids in 

• Studies show that students achieve more when they attend schools that create a cohesive sense of community. In big schools, student's attachment is weaker than in smaller schools 

  • In bigger schools, there's higher inequality levels 

Big classes vs small classes 

• Small classes are more expensive 

• Range of 20-40 students in a class don't affect much in terms of learning once they reached adolescence  

  • So small classes tend to benefit young elementary school children more (until 3^rd grade) who may need more individualized instruction 

  • Kids with special need fare better in smaller classes 

• No evidence that rate of student victimization is higher in larger schools. Though victimization is less likely in schools where student-teacher ratio is lower 

result of charter school kids’ performance

Charter schools (schools that don't have to follow public school rules) kids don't necessarily do better; there's been mixed research. Some kids do better some do worse than public schools (inconclusive research) 

• Problem of creaming where parents care more so they have the tendency to put kids in charter school (regardless of academic levels) 

• Charter schools can expel kids to public schools if they're being disruptive (public schools don't have that options) 

how do home-school kid do in terms of academic performance? how about all girl vs boy schools

• Home-schooling done for philosophical reasons (often religious) 

  • These kids often do okay 

• Home-schooling where parents are letting their kids quietly drop out 

  • Easy to pass online curriculum but you wouldn't get the same level/quality of education as you would in person at a real school 

Unclear research done on all girl vs all boy schools 

• These gave up socialization of the opposite gender; but for others it create a safe environment 

what fraction of differences in academic achievement or IQ test is due to difference in socioeconomic status?

2/3 . difference in SES is the biggest difference in academic achievement

Claude Steele's research

Stereotype threat

Social exclusion effects 

The self-belief that if another pact is looking down on us or is superior to us, to an extent where you are not in the "in-group," it has an effect on performances, as seen from stereotype threat studies 

effects of desegregation and academic performance

• Desegregation is helpful, especially for marginalized group. It effects achievement levels, long-term income, and later outcomes 

• Desegregation is one of the best way to increase school outcomes and achievements 

Class Tracking and Detracking

Tracking: process of putting kids into different groups based on assessments of their abilities (e.g. putting them in high honors, honor, regular classes) 

Detracking: class where they don't separate students by regular, honor etc. typically more helpful for students at the bottom than those on the top

explain tracking as opportunity hoarding

• Students that have high SES will have high advantage to do better in school, in getting into better college. Best teachers will tend to teach higher level classes too and best students. This creates opportunity hoarding issue, which maintain disparity 

• In that sense, school acts as a maintainer of social strata

pros and cons of tracking

1. Pros  

   • Idea of tracking is a way for school to keep wealthy, educated students and family into the system 

   • It allows gifted kids, or kids that are excelling to learn more 

2. Cons  

   • Give lower level classes the worst teachers, least homework for students that are actually the most needy 

   • Opportunity hoarding 

   • Tracking tend to be merit-based which has its pros and cons (cons typically being that student in high level class tend to be of higher SES so these students have greater opportunity to do better and have greater resources, which can be unfair to the other students. Ie. Opportunity hoarding) 

do black and latinx youth have more optimistic beliefs and positive feelings about school than other students?

yes. so it is not true that these students are more likely than others to believe that their opportunities for success are blocked --> adolescents' hopes and aspirations for the future are very similar across ethnic groups 

Lewis & Diamond reading

Even in liberal, “good” schools that value diversity, racial inequality persists because white parents—while professing commitments to equity—actively or passively defend systems (like tracking and weighted grading) that advantage their own children. 

Snap reading

• School pushout: punitive school policies/practices that make it difficult for students to be successful in school (e.g. students getting expelled, suspended) 

  • School pushout disproportionately affects students of color, LGBTQ+ youth, and other underserved youth 

• Supportive strategies help keep students in school and learning and lower the impact of school pushout for LGBTQ youth of color 

Allen & Allen reading

Allen and Allen argue that to help teens “escape the endless adolescence,” schools must make learning meaningful, empower students to act like emerging adults, and link education directly to the adult world. Programs that foster independence, engagement, and real feedback—whether modest classroom changes or early-college systems—show that meaningful reform is both possible and urgently needed 

Volpe 2022 reading

Volpe and colleagues argue that developmental science continues to reflect white supremacist assumptions—particularly the idea that Black adolescents are a homogenous group. This belief erases the diversity of Black experiences and sustains racial inequality in research. The authors call for antiracist within-group research designs that recognize the heterogeneity among Black adolescents across ethnicity, nationality, gender, class, skin tone, religion, sexuality, and immigration status. 

They critique traditional race-comparative studies, which often position white youth as the “norm” and portray Black youth as deficient. While within-group studies (research focusing only on Black participants) avoid these comparisons, such studies can still perpetuate white supremacy if they ignore diversity within Black communities. 

pseudo intimate

“fake” intimacy and couple relationship that is less about sex or act of romance itself but more about identified girlfriend and boyfriend, common in early adolescence

describe pseudo-intimate with LGBTQ+ youths

Usually these youths won’t start dating until they’ve came out. Or they would take this time during early adolescence to experiment/figure out their sexuality or gender identity

what are reasons for dating in early adolescence

choices of dating partners have more to do with how they will be seen by others than with the actual quality of the relationship itself. (e.g. may explain why elementary-middle school girls tend to be more attracted to “bad boys”)

functions of romantic relationships for adolescent development: girls vs guys

girls: romantic relationships provide a context for the further expression of intimacy

• girls tend to look at personality/inner quality when dating

• girls practice intimacy earlier (likely due to earlier onset of puberty and cognitive development)

• the way that girl interact with her bf is more strongly related to the girl’s internal working model of relationship than boy’s

• females tend to set up social relationship during dating phase and during marriage

guys: romantic relationship provide a context for further development of intimacy

• guys tend to look at appearance when dating

describe how phases of romance/dating change throughout adolescence

early adolescence age 11-13:

• romantic relationship tends to be short-lived. Goal is to socialize with potential romantic and sexual partners and to establish, improve, or maintain one’s social status

age 14-16

• start to move toward more meaningful romantic relationships

• dating can still be very casual and occur in group context

age 17/18 towards end of HS:

• commitment to relationship becomes prioritized; often tension between partners’ needs for intimacy and their needs for autonomy

describe the correlates of dating “early” vs “late” for girls

early:

• these girls end up less socially mature, less imaginative

• socially delayed

• more likely to engage in risky behaviors (typically bc these girls that date early tend to date older guys)

• girls that date early and dated multiple partners: experience drop in relationship quality over time and poorer quality relationships in young adulthood

• more likely to be victims of dating violence

late (started dating towards end of HS):

• socially delayed

• more dependent on parents

• more insecure

• more lonely

• diminished life satisfaction in young adulthood

describe correlate of teens who date at a regular pace

• more popular

• tends to party more

• stronger self-image

• greater acceptance by their friends

• more relational aggression

Not enough research is done for boys on the correlates of early vs late dating but what actually do we know?

boys that suffer through rejection + not getting the intimate relational connection struggle more with interpersonal relationships

historical changes in romantic relationship? particularly now

Even though menarche is happening earlier than before, recent generations aren't getting into romantic relationship as much and is having sex less 

what is the link between romantic relationship and SES?

those who are of high SES, go to college and pursue higher education are less likely to date (and date less) and marry later

those who are of low SES are less likely to go to college and tend to date early and marry earlier

are there correlate of adolescence romantic relationships and depression?

yes. adolescents that are in romantic relationships tend to be more at risk for depression than kids who are not bc once those relationship ended, those kids end up distressed

• kids that are in intense relationship are more depressed than kids not in an intense relationship

does simply being in a relationship during adolescence predict quality of romantic relationship in adulthood?

NO! simply being in a relationship (and whether or not you’ve been in a relationship during adolescence) does not predict much of future relationship satisfaction. Rather, the quality of the relationship and what you take away from it after it ended matters more. there is no conclusive answer with predicting future relationship satisfaction

what is the correlate between dating and parent-teen relationships

high correlate; parents romantic relationship is bad and your relationship with parents is bad, likely to translate into your romantic relationship 

what predicts whether a relationship will last?

• having even levels of commitment

• being near the same age, same levels of education

• having similar levels of physical attractiveness

• similar SAT scores

what does not predict whether a relationship will last?

Religion and social class

describe societal restrictiveness and sexual development in adolescence

• In restrictive society, sex is highly discourage and adults don't talk about it: highly discontinuous. (e.g. middle eastern countries, girls and guys are not allowed to see each other/talk to each other) 

• Semi-restrictive society: sex is against the rule but *wink* wink  

• Permissive society: encourage sex, very liberal about sex. E.g. Nordic countries, e.g. going to a central park in Munich and seeing nudists 

historical vs modern view of sex in adolescence

historical view: sex and desiring sex first emerge in adolescence due to onset of puberty

modern view: we’ve always been sexual creatures since a child, but our level, meaning, and intensity of desiring sex change throughout life

Sex and SES

high SES = higher chance of going to college = dating less = having sex less = marrying later

lower SES = dating more = having sex more = marrying earlier

there is no single “normal” age for sex. why?

bc of historical changes and societal attitude towards it. cohort effect also sees different trends when it comes to dating and sex

describe the predictors of the age of first sex and family relationship

• authoritarian parents = dating discourage, less sex

• strong mother and daughter relationship = dating and relationship comes later (sex doesn’t happen so early)

• kids of single mother tend to have sex at earlier age

• older sibling who’s sexually active show higher influence on the kid

• if thinking that your peers are having sex will influence you to do it too; friends that are sexually active show higher influence on you

• kids who are heavy alcohol users

• kids who grew up in poverty and in disadvantage neighborhood = more sexually active